If We Hadn't Died
by Saffy2510
Summary: A series of one shots on alternative and different kilas/steferine scenes. 6x03: They were getting out of 1994 and she wasn't looking back. But she needed him. In more ways than one. Funny how things work out... Please review and tell me any suggestions! :-)
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! I've decided to do a series of one-shots on alternate Kilas scenes from season 5 after I re-watched the episodes, and wandered where it would have gone if something went differently. I'm just trying something out, and I don't know how many chapters there will be yet. Please review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own tvd or the characters, they belong to Julie Plec and L.J Smith.**

Silas hopped up the stairs to the Boarding House, and quietly made his way into Damon's bedroom. He laughed silently at how easy it was to infiltrate Damon's mind, and walked over to the open door of Damon's au suite door, hoping that Katherine would come with him without a fight.

It was a pity she was the one who had been cured. He had heard such intriging stories of her, the doppelgänger, hunted by Klaus, quite the manipulative, selfish bitch, but interesting to him all the same. Because no-one became like that without a tragic backstory, one that would haunt them forever.

He would know.

He rapped on the side of the door and stepped into view. Katherine looked up from shaving her arm in alarm, then instantly relaxed when she saw him, thinking he was Stefan, putting away her razor and smirking at him. He himself was quite shocked by her appearance. The immortality elixir had worked, she looked exactly like Amara, right down to the almond shape and size of her doe eyes, apart from her curly hair piled on top of her head.

He quickly covered his astonishment by leaning on the side of the door, crossing his arms and smirking right back.

"Why are you in my brother's bathtub?" he asked, still smiling.

Katherine leaned further back into her bubbly bath. "Why aren't you?"

"I will say that's a tempting offer." he approached her, and sat on the edge of the bath next to her. He liked her, she knew how to have a good time. He almost regretted having to kill her.

"Mmm, he flirts. I like Elena-less Stefan." Katherine grinned widely, but it didn't hide the flickering suspicion in her eyes. She knew something was wrong. He had to step up his game.

"You know, human looks better on you than I would've guessed, Katherine." he leaned down so he was mere inches from her face.

"I think you just accidentally gave me a compliment." Katherine said, the disbelief evident in her voice.

"No, I mean it. You, sitting here all weak and vulnerable. It works." Silas reached out and cradled her cheek, hoping it would do the trick. Her eyes flickered from his face to his hand, before she sat up slowly and inched towards his face, gripping the bath tub with one hand. He reached down to grab her neck and haul her out of the tub when he just... froze. He looked into her eyes, and really, really saw her. He could _see_ her, the person she was so long ago, and the person she had become, each layer of her personality, the reasons behind her evolution, and who she_ really _was. Not the stories about her, the fake, selfish persona, but a fragile girl who craved love, but pushed it away time and time again because of the people she had lost and the ever-present fear and trauma of it happening again. Every single one of her emotions flitting in front of his eyes, exposing her whole life, the way she saw and experianced it, in a single moment.

And it was beautiful.

Somehow he couldn't do it. Not now, at least. But Amara was worth anything, no matter the cost so he could do it. For her. But he didn't have to enjoy it.

So instead of kidnapping her, he found himself kissing her, and the world seemed to melt away. He convinced himself it was Amara, but it was _better_, when concentrating on Katherine. He leaned forward, practically in the tub as they continued kissing passionately, as he enjoyed every second of the heat that filled him everytime his lips touched hers. She pulled back to breathe, and started undoing the buttons to his shirt as he kicked off his shoes. Within moments, they were both the tub, getting soaked, and the water was splashing everywhere. Damon was storming up the stairs, closely followed by Jeremy, and barged into his room. He had found out Silas' true identity from Jeremy, and was on the way to try to kill him unsuccessfully. Silas jumped off Katherine as she giggled at the look on Damon's face. He clearly hadn't been expecting this.

"Hello, brother." Silas smirked, causing Katherine to snigger again.

"Wha- my-my bathtub! You two are disgusting! Go to your own tub! You've ruined my bath time for me!" Damon sputtered out. He had instantly dismissed the idea of Silas escaping, because he thought only Stefan would sleep with Katherine for revenge against him and Elena, since Silas had a girlfriend. He and Jeremy looked revolted, and Jeremy just turned and walked out of the door, now also looking shocked.

"What, you mean now?" asked Silas innocently, placing one hand on each side of the tub and preparing to get up. Katherine had sunk further down into the bubbles, smiling mischeviously, her feet prodding his chest.

"No! No," Damon threw his hands out and closed his eyes in disgust. "Just, get out before I kill you." he grumbled, marching out the room, muttering angrily.

"Well," Katherine leaned towards him and pecked him on the lips. "That was amusing wasn't it?"

He laughed. It definetly had been. "Come on, I really wouldn't underestimate Damon on his threats." Silas got out of the tub, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his hips, before tossing a robe to Katherine, who was just getting out too. He took her hand, and went up to Stefan's room, ignoring Damon's evil stare and kissed her again, removing her robe in one swift motion. He wondered if he could ever do it, kill a unique soul such as her.

Either way, now was not the time to be gaining a conscience.

But he'd done it anyway.

**Thank you for reading, and please tell me if you have any suggestions! :-)**


	2. Chapter 2

**5x03 alternate scene: If Qetsiyah hadn't performed the spell on Stefan to remove Silas' mental powers.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own tvd or the characters, they belong to Julie Plec and L.J Smith.**

"Sorry to sound like a broken record, but, I like to the identity of my kidnappers." Katherine snapped as Nadia dragged her out of the bushes. "Who are you? And, what do you want?"

Nadia stopped and turned to her. "Ask me again, and I'll sew your mouth shut." she snapped ferosiously.

They both turned around to find Silas leaning against Nadia's car, smirking in obvious amusement at them.

Katherine suddenly felt exhausted; another enemy after her-again. What was it about her? Whatever it was he wanted, she wouldn't go down without a fight, she was sure of that.

"Silas, of course it's you." she spat at him, shifting away as far as possible away from them, without breaking her arm from Nadia's tight grip. Silas seemed undettered by her venomous tone, and seemed to be ignoring her, turning his attention instead to Nadia.

"What are you doing here?" Nadia asked, sounding confused.

"GPS Tracker!" Silas announced proudly, picking it up and showing them, clearly pleased with himself. "It's even better than a locator spell," he flipped the GPS over in his hand, then tossed it carelessly to the ground, standing up and stepping towards them.

"Thank you, for, working so quickly, Nadia." Silas added sarcastically, now only about a few feet away from them.

"I'm not ready to hand her over yet." Nadia replied, pulling Katherine behind her.

"Ah, that's right. Your fascinating unfinished business that I don't care about." Silas sighed in a bored tone.

"Get out of my head." Nadia said and stepped towards him, so they were inches apart.

"What are you two talking about?" Katherine asked, feeling stupid, and mildly annoyed that she was left out of the loop.

Silas ignored her again, and said to Nadia, "Let go of her arm." Katherine could _feel _the power radiating off him, pushing at Nadia as she complied, begrudgingly. She instinctively knew trying to run wouldn't work. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up on end, and she felt truly afraid. Klaus hadn't been this bad. She could outrun, outwit and outsmart him anyday, but if Silas could compel anyone and everyone as she had been told, then she had no-one left to trust, apart from maybe Jeremy, who would gladly watch her die.

"Now I want you to pull out your gun. And aim it at your heart." he instructed. Katherine's eyes flickered to the vampire as she very reluctantly and slowly, removed the gun from it's holster and brought it up to her chest. She wore a steely mask, no fear, no emotion was written on her face.

And Katherine kind of respected her for that. It reminded her of herself. She briefly wondered why he didn't order Nadia to take off her sunlight protection instead of knocking herself out, but then rationalised that maybe he didn't have time, or he needed her for something else.

"Good," he remarked, his face also emotionless. Katherine would have thought he would have looked smug over the power he had over them, but he seemed... sad. He clearly hadn't wanted this life to go this way, he couldn't have seen it coming. Alone in a cave for two millenia really didn't help him either, it had made him bitter and hateful, as it would anyone.

So Katherine pitied him, aswell as feared him, but was she going to go down with him? Become a sacrifical lamb for him to be with his love, whilst she ended up alone in a supernatural purgatory?

Hell, no.

"Now, pull, the trigger." his voice broke her out of her thoughts. He glanced at Katherine in confusion as he spoke to Nadia. Katherine blinked at him, then remembered with a fearful jolt that he could read people's minds, and had probably heard everything she had just thought about him.

The explosion from the gun made Katherine jump back in surprise, although she knew it would happen. It made her ears ring and she winced in pity for Nadia, who had crumpled to the ground unconcious, the gun spinning away from her. A large, shockingly vivid, red stain was rapidly spreading across the front of her shirt, ruining it.

"Get in the car." Silas told her, grabbing her hand, opening the passenger door next to the driver's seat and throwing her in, despite her heavy resistance, kicking and clawing at him. He got in next to her, turned to her, and said, "Don't try to escape, don't tell anyone where you are or get help and do exactly what I tell you."

Now Katherine could feel his power on _her_, pressing on her brain, forcing her to obey. It was a lot more powerful than vampire compulsion, all right. She had never felt that way under normal compulsion. She huffed in annoyance, and leaned away from him and towards the window. She thought she saw him smirk at her out of the corner of her eye, before starting up the car and driving down the road.

"Why do you want me anyway?" she asked, after a few moments of thick, tense silence, curiousity overriding fear.

"That's for me to know, and you to find out." Silas smiled smugly.

Katherine sighed in annoyance. Why couldn't the Big Bads just explain themselves for a change? It was getting rather boring.

"I hate you." she turned away from him, conveying as much disgust into her voice as possible. She didn't expect him to be fazed by her comment, but he looked rather stung and hurt. He blinked several times and gritted his teeth, quickly smoothing out the emotions on his face before Katherine could be completely sure of their existence in the first place.

She wondered if it was because she sounded like Amara, or it was because of her herself.

Or maybe, he was just like other people, who were insulted by comments like that. She felt a twinge of pity for him. He had been human once before, long ago. They all had been. And, in a way, it shaped them, who they were in the long run, their feelings, their experiances in particular.

She thought if that was the case, no wonder he was who he was today.

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**So, this is just me trying something really old and really good out, please let me know if you like it!  
>Disclaimer: Julie Plec and L.J Smith own the vampire diaries, not me.<br>**_**Beautiful Insanity.**_

Water slices through his lungs in merciless torrents. Bursting his blood vessels and losing him in a murky depth of despair every time a vital organ falls apart, exploding through his body. It turns the stale, foul-tasting water around him into a churning mass of red and he falls into a deep, inky sleep that almost seems peaceful, as his internal combustions heal.

And then he wakes up. It's become a pattern now, his resurrection like one vicious circuit to hell.

Sometimes Stefan thinks even hell would be better than this.

A never ending drowning, the never ending drowning, lost in the drowning. The water that delivers a crushing and painful but temporary death that drags and tosses him around like a limp rag doll. All he can do is choke and pound emptily on the safe door, hoping someone out there would stop what they were doing, think about him, put the pieces together and come rushing to his aid.

But no-one comes.

No-one stops for a moment to think about him.

No-one puts the pieces together. Yet somehow he keeps on hoping because hope is the only thing he has left. That the two people most important to him would have-must have noticed that he was gone. That they would stop going on dates, kissing, other... things, that burned his mind every time he thought about them so much that he is surprised the red, ice-cold water wouldn't start bubbling and boiling with rage, to help him.

His _brother_ and the _love of his life._ Together. The worst thing that had ever happened to him.  
>He starts to realise he must have overlooked so many things, been fooled from the beginning into thinking she would be his forever. He feels like laughing because of course this would happen to him. In fact, he probably deserved it. He just hates the thought of another person touching her the way he had once been allowed to. The brother part seems like the universe's way of playing a cruel trick on him.<p>

Of course this was what his life had drained away to be.

Of _course_ Damon got her. His true love. He lets a little anger trickle in despite being happy for him. Because it wasn't fair that Damon got the girl, whilst all he got was a tidal wave of water slammed into his body every single minute of every single agonising day for the past-what, three months, now?  
>A safe, that was meant for another man, dooming him for what feels like eternity and all Stefan wishes for is it to stop. To end all his suffering, to take it all away because his entire existence is not worth the pain he has to endure, the battles he fights, but loses a little more every day. Because he's lost his love and he's losing his mind, dying, ravenous and all alone, but most of powerless.<p>

Powerless against the man who wears his face. Well, it was Silas' face, if one was being tedious, the face that Stefan wore. Everything he ever has been and ever will be all boils down to the person he's really been all along.

A copy.

A shadow of the most powerful supernatural being who ever lived. He briefly feels a flash of pride quickly swallowed by a hateful vengeance to destroy Silas if he ever escapes. But vampires don't have a time limit and forever is a long time.  
>He wants to shout and scream at the world for standing by whilst this happened to him. For letting him suffer in a midst of terror and ferocious hunger.A ferocious hunger that was driving him out of control and into a desperate fever. The ripper was waiting, just hidden under the surface, the floods of water doing nothing for his insatiable thirst for blood.<br>He drifts from his bubble of torture, the water washing him away on a tide of pain.  
>~X~<br>Jolting. Thumping. Faint noises and shakes cause Stefan to snap out of his slumber to an immense shaking, that makes his teeth chatter. He has no idea how long he's been 'dead', but he's not feeling exactly grateful for whatever had yanked him out of his snooze away from his personal hell hole. The jolting increases, and then the safe is turned upright, sluggishly dragged upwards through the sediment that had probably been deposited onto it, and pulled up through the water. Stefan's heart hammers in excitement, his hopes soaring. Finally! Freedom. Damon and Elena had found him! His whole body itches with the urge to escape, to feed until he could no longer breathe, or remember his own name. He can tell when the safe breaks the surface when the water starts trickling slowly out of it, and sunlight pierces the tiny sliver in the crease of the safe door, dazzling, and frightening at the same time. The safe slams to the ground, jarring his weakened bones, but Stefan couldn't care less.

He was free.

He coughs and spits all the remaining water out of his lungs, eager to escape the feel of it and wincing as it stings his mouth with a bitter, salty taste, and drags in his first breath in three months. He marvels at life, how something so simple as breathing for a vampire could be missed so easily and so much. He never realised how much he had missed air until now. Gathering his strength, he prepares to pound the door again, but someone beats him to it. With a loud clunking sound, the lock is slowly turned, opening with every twist. And Stefan grows more agitated, yet excited every second it takes to open.

Then it does.

And the blinding sunlight burns his skin, and he starts roasting like a chicken. Silas must have stolen his daylight ring. But he doesn't mind. What he had just gone through was so much worse. He doesn't mind death anymore.

But someone else does, and someone else grabs his left hand and slides the cool, familiar ring of protection onto his middle finger. He starts to slowly heal over, slower than he'd like to admit, but feeling cool and protected once more, and he squints up at his saviour gratefully as his eyesight adjusts, and who he sees comes as a great surprise, overpowering the crushing disappointment he feels, because it wasn't who it _should_ have been.  
>"Having fun?" his doppelganger smirks.<br>**~X~**  
>Stefan rips into a woman's neck, guzzling the addictive, warm liquid greedily until the blood runs in steady streams down her once clean, white shirt and down his stained and water-logged ruined one. It drizzles down her neck in lazy hot torrents, and he relishes in the feel of it as it smears all over his hands as he messily grasps at her back and neck. He doesn't even remember how he got here, but he doesn't care. All he sees humans as right now are walking snacks. Surprisingly, he's only killed two people in the few hours he started living again. He wonders if it's the liquidy substance of the delicious hot red stuff he craves, or that he finally has maintained some control. Probably the former. He lets the woman go, gasping for air and blood trickling down his chin. Showing some restraint, he heals her with his blood, and compels her away. He turns to Silas, who is sitting on the couch opposite him, looking both amused and disgusted. An odd look on his own face he had never seen before. He had been helping Stefan, getting him away if it got too messy, keeping an eye on him. He even took him to his apartment, to keep his snacks at a minimum. And Stefan can't help but wonder why the man who essentially killed him, changed his mind and came back to save him.<p>

"Why come back?" he asks the question that had been nagging at him beneath his raging thirst. "Why not leave me there? No-one would have suspected you and you could have stolen my life. So why?"

Silas smirks at him. "Because you need someone who won't betray you," A personal jab at his life. "And I need a wingman."  
>"Aah, of course. All the Big Bads want me. Is it my looks, or...?" Stefan carelessly licks the remaining blood off his fingers, causing Silas to laugh.<br>"No, I think we like the beauty of destroying such a fragile thing."

"I'm not so fragile anymore," Stefan replies tersely. "I made it out of my life alive."

Silas just smiles sadly, a flicker of how old he really was shooting briefly in his eyes. "No my shadow self, you didn't come out alive. You came out just like me."  
><strong>~X~<strong>  
>He stands by the Boarding House, a still statue. He can see figures flitting in front of the bottom half. Jeremy and Damon. Most likely bickering, or ignoring each other. Funny. Damon never stopped hating Elena's brother long enough to pick up the phone and check up on his own one. He feels a throb of disgust and hatred pound at his heart. Damon won't get off easy this time ruining his life. He picks up a large stone the size of his fist, hefting it easily in his hand. Without thinking twice, he thrusts all his power into one arm and flings the stone right at the window, where he can clearly see the shape of Damon's head. The window completely shatters inwards, spraying Jeremy, but mainly Damon with razor-sharp shards of smashed glass right in the face. Not to mention the stone that had smacked into his forehead just before, adding to the pain and humiliation.<p>

Stefan smiles, silently enjoying his destruction. It wasn't nearly enough, not by a long shot, but the sight of Damon's face slick with blood, glass jutting out of his face at all angles, making him look like a walking disaster is really quite humourous. Three months ago, it wouldn't have been. Three months ago, Stefan Salvatore was sane. And it had been nice, for a little while. So _boring_ though.

But insanity, however, is a beautiful thing.  
><strong>~X~<strong>  
>He still has nightmares. Pounding through his head, chasing the dreams away. The water, filling every crack, every crevice in his body. The pain. The explosions roaring through his gut ten times a day. But somehow it all makes it easier. It gives him something to hold onto, a reminder of what he got when he was too forgiving, too compassionate, too <em>selfless.<em> Whenever he showed mercy, it was another stake piercing his heart, his daylight ring slipping off his finger.

Mercy was a means to an end.

The nightmares make him stronger. They stop him from caving in to the person he was, they keep him afraid of getting too close again.  
>Sometimes he hears Silas talking in his sleep. He sounds scared. He wonders what Silas could possibly be afraid of, but he's too afraid himself to ask. He wonders why he isn't killing himself to be with his true love, like before. Silas hasn't really told him anything, why he hurt Stefan to begin with, his life two thousand years ago. The real story.<br>Stefan thinks he doesn't want to make his life a reality. To accept that his intentions didn't go the way he wanted them to and that the result is loneliness. Because that is essentially what happened to him, too. Which is why he can't find himself hating Silas.

He feels sorry for him. All those years, wasted, all alone. It can drive a person mad.

He also thinks that maybe he wouldn't be alone if Damon hadn't killed Lexi. If Damon hadn't done everything it took to punish him for a life he never wanted, but is now enjoying all the same. He thinks about Lexi, whether she knew about his predicament, whether she watched over him as he lay drowning. What she would be thinking right now if she saw the person he had become.

He cares, just not enough to dwell on it.

Instead, he stares into empty space, thoughts whirling on no particular thing. Grasping and snatching on whispers of memories long gone past, flying by without any focus.

"Your thoughts are churning." Silas calls over from the living room.

"You have to stop doing that. I don't know where you're from, but in this century, people don't like their privacy disturbed." Stefan says, sucking on a blood bag.

"Hmm. Interesting," Silas stands up, with a magazine, staring at the cover with extreme distaste and hate. "These people don't seem to mind though." he points at the subheadings of celebrities being exploited.

"They're famous humans who like the attention." Stefan explains, rolling his eyes.

"Crazy people," Silas tosses the magazine into the bin. "What is the world coming to?"

"Traitors at every turn, thieves snatching at your life, and people who aren't what they seem." Stefan says in a dull monotone. The sting of Damon and Elena is still fresh on his mind, leaving him bitter, eager to escape and never look back. Silas peers at him, not trying to hide that he is reading Stefan's mind. "Why don't you then?"

Stefan sighs, trying to gather his thoughts to figure out what Silas means. "Leave? I dunno. I just... don't."

"You should. This town is a drag." Silas wrinkles his nose.

Stefan smiles and when he does, he thinks of Lexi. "I hear Portland is beautiful this time of year."  
><strong>~X~<strong>  
>The Scooby gang finally track them down in New Jersey after two months. But too little, too late.<p>

They should have rescued him months ago.

Stefan is downing another shot and Silas is slicing open the bartender's wrist with his pen knife when he hears the snarky voice that brings back so many painful memories, a bubbling anger that urges him to lash out at something.

"Hello brother."

Stefan grits his teeth, then slowly turns around to face the face that has ruined him for 145 years. In a leather jacket, jeans and smug smirk, Damon stands before him, Elena, Caroline, Jeremy and Bonnie (wasn't she supposed to be dead?) gathered behind him, all looking like a sombre support group."Damon." he nods, before pouring and tossing back his shot to give him an excuse to come up with an insulting comment. "Took you long enough. So, how did you find me?"

"When we looked you up, we heard rumours of a unnaturally powerful immortal wearing your face ripping his way through South America. Literally. And Bonnie told us about some wacky spell reversal on him when she died, and that you had gone missing. It wasn't hard to figure out." Damon says, sneering.

"Well, it seemed to be very difficult for you to prise your lips off my ex-girlfriend and realise I was missing." Stefan smirks coldly.

"Stefan," Elena says softly, and Stefan jerks back at the sound of her voice, rejecting the warm memories she stirs up in him. Because if it all didn't mean enough for her to stay, then it wouldn't mean enough for him either.

"Stop this, please. I know you're upset-"

"You think I'm upset about losing you to my brother? That you carelessly flung me aside? Trust me, I'm over it." Stefan calmly takes another shot as Elena flinches slightly at his words and his 'friends' take a sharp intake of breath in shock.

"So you thought you'd run away with _him_?" Damon jerks his chin at Silas in obvious distaste.

"Well, I know what the term 'family' means." Silas innocently sips blood out of his red paper cup. Damon scowls at him, possibly thinking about attacking him, before deciding against it, and instead settles for an angry clenched jaw.  
>"I mean," he continues dryly, "Did you know Stefan drowned for three months in a safe? I did." he smirks slyly. Damon shoots him an evil glare, before looking at Stefan, shocked. "What's he talking about?"<p>

"When I went missing, Silas actually put me in the safe he was supposed to be in," Stefan says casually with a shrug.

"Wait, _what_?" Caroline looks blank with horror and disbelief, and Stefan glares at her so coldly she shrinks back slightly. He'd like to forgive Caroline, the least harmless, and sweetest of the group, but she had been his friend, she should have realised. All of them should have.

"Do I have to repeat myself? I thought you had vampire hearing." he smirks coolly, causing Silas to snort into his cup, shoulders shaking in unmistakable laughter. Caroline opens her mouth to reply, but instead changes her mind and walks out of the bar, looking injured. Elena now looks a little angry, and Bonnie rushes out after Caroline, throwing Stefan a hateful glare on the way out. Stefan buries the guilt boiling up in his stomach, still wearing the arrogant smirk, he knows will annoy Damon.

"Not cool, man." Jeremy warns, surprise evident in his tone.  
>"Maybe not, but I think I deserve to think a little selfishly. You know, in case you haven't noticed, the last time I was kind and compassionate, my brother stole my girlfriend. So, what does that say about me, eh?" Stefan mutters softly, still smiling serenely.<p>

"Stefan, he's been killing people! Why are you doing this?!" Elena exclaims angrily, breathing heavily.

"Because I don't get hurt anymore, I know where I stand. And no matter what with you, from the beginning, I had no clue. I didn't know if you loved me and it killed me inside. I was lost." Stefan snaps back, veins coiling under his eyes dangerously. Elena steps away, lost for words, and Stefan takes in a deep breath of relief.  
>"Dude, he dumped you in a quarry! Come on, Stefan." Damon is almost pleading now, clearly stressing over a losing battle. Stefan just finds it amusing.<p>

"Yes, he outsmarted me, and trapped me like I was going to trap him. And then he rescued me. Can any of you say that?" Stefan shoots back, calm and collected, though it slices through Damon and Elena just as badly as if he had screamed at them.

"You're going to choose some psycho psychic over us? That's not you Stefan." Jeremy says evenly, arms folded.

Stefan's chest tightens at that. The person he had been with them wasn't the person he really was. "I'm not that person anymore. I never was."  
>"Hell to that." Damon snaps, grabbing Stefan's arm. Silas stands up suddenly, his hand shooting out to grab Damon's wrist in a quick sudden movement, twisting it round sharply until he lets go of Stefan with a loud snap and a cry of shock and pain.<p>

"Didn't you hear him? He's not going. Take the hint." Silas snarls before releasing Damon, who staggered backwards. Elena catches him, angry and upset and Jeremy looks stunned, a still figure.

"Walk away Damon," Stefan says quietly, his shot glass cracking beneath his tightly clenched hand. "Walk away and don't come back."  
><strong>~X~<strong>  
>It's been six months. Six months of a life he never knew he wanted. Strip clubs, dancing, feeding, become a permanent part of life. Not to mention having to teach Silas how to use a mobile phone, something he'll never forget. Life has been so much better without Mystic Falls in it. It poisoned him to the core, and now it can't kill him anymore. Six months of a hell free life, even an almost normal life. He even had gotten a job as a mechanic, normal things he should have done a long time ago. He has time and time again found it ironic how Silas turned out to be more of a brother to him, despite their first meeting, than Damon, who he knew for two hundred years and gave him countless reasons to give up, ever was.<p>

But that was life for you. Throwing you at every turn.

He thought he had experienced the unexpected. Would know when the universe would throw him off track.  
>What he didn't expect was to get home with Silas after work one night was a girl with curly waist-length hair, leather trousers, shiny heels, bringing back memories both good and bad sitting on his armchair, legs elegantly crossed, red nails tapping the arms of the chair. She doesn't look so bad, for someone adjusting to a beating heart, the type of survival that she wasn't accustomed to. The human aspect of life. She smirks when she sees them come in, and he instantly feels at home. In a way the old Stefan never would have felt around his sire. Maybe it's the human quality, her chance at a fresh start that he has hope for.<p>

"Hello boys." Katherine says, a thousand meanings behind her words.

And the familiarity of her voice fits into a hole in his soul he never knew existed.

Now he's home.


	4. Chapter 4

**I missed one out! 5x02: If Katherine hadn't shot Silas.**

**Disclaimer: Julie Plec and L.J Smith own the vampire diaries, not me.**

_**A Deadly Beauty.**_

He pushed the branch all the way through his shoulder, ignoring the minor stab of protesting pain in the bloody mess. It stabbed Jeremy, who felt it a lot more than Silas did, and he slid off of Silas instantly with a sharp cry of pain.

Silas straightened, and turned to face Jeremy, who was now on his hands and knees, shuffling away from him in a reluctant admission of defeat as blood stained his shirt. He picked up the mallet, and swung it towards Jeremy, smacking the end of the wooden handle home against his temple, with a sickening crunch. Jeremy keeled over onto the floor without a sound, unconscious. Silas really didn't fancy wasting five minutes of his time eradicating the Hunter's curse from his mind again, he had more important things to do, like finding a way into the Afterlife, so didn't bother burying the metal part into him.

He tossed the mallet into the dark behind him somewhere, and headed off in the direction he had seen Jeremy come from, hoping to find Katherine. After some aimless wandering down a makeshift path, he found himself back on the main road to the middle of nowhere. He gritted his teeth in irritance, and was about to turn back when he saw her.

Katherine.

She was leaning against the side of a truck, tired and dirty, about twenty feet away. She was impatiently waiting for Jeremy and Matt, jingling the car keys held loosely in her hand.

He approached her warily, but somehow she seemed to sense something, whether he was too loud, or she was naturally suspicious, but she turned her head swiftly to the side and saw him. She straightened up, eyes glued on him, unsure of his motives, because he'd stopped too. He knew it would be pointless now if she ran, to try to catch her, so he remained fixed in the same position.

"There's no point trying to run." he said, his voice loud and clear in the empty, quiet night.

"No, but there's no point in giving up either." she replied in a raspy voice, layered with fear, but ridden with determination. He smiled at her stubborness. He liked her. Her wits, her beliefs, her argumentative personality.

If it wasn't for all that he could kill her without a guilty conscience.

They stood there, feet apart, for a brief, tense moment when she spoke, a nervous tone she was desperate to hide. "I'm not going easily." she said in a croaky voice, also sounding resigned, as well as scared. Maybe she had seen this coming.

Silas nodded, surprisingly in understanding. "I know, and I'm sorry." For a minute he genuinely was. To kill a person over this cure was so petty, yet so important to him. It would have been better if it had stayed in the glass vial. He grabbed her arm, yanking her down the road as she kicked and clawed and screamed and, well, kept true to her word. It was an effort to contain her, but after several struggling minutes, he managed to shove her into his car, compel her, and drive off. All he needed now was a destroyed anchor and he would be good to go and off himself.

She marched slowly after him as he took her back to his place, his compulsion doing its work.

"So, what are you gonna do with me? Take a sip of my blood, kill yourself and pass onto the Afterlife to find your dead girlfriend who's probably forgotten all about you?" she asked snarkily, settling down onto his armchair, crossing her legs.

She didn't know the full story. Charming. "Your blood is the cure, Katherine. I need every last drop of blood from your body to be cured. Does that clear things up for you?" he smirked at the shock on her face. She lowered her head wordlessly, scowling at the floor and then crossed her arms and mumbled something unintelligible along the lines of 'stupid Elena.' He smiled, despite himself. He knew he couldn't help it, but he was falling under her spell just like every other man she had met.

"Don't worry little one, I won't kill you yet," He murmured, leaning over the couch to talk into her hair. She visibly tensed, and shrunk away from him in disgust, making him laugh.

"You are, after all, quite something. Something that reminds me of Amara."

"If she had any taste, she'd know what she was letting herself in for." Katherine spat, curling protectively up onto the couch.

Okay, that had hurt, a quick stab to his stomach. He blinked, and came round to sit on the armchair next to her, and switched on the TV. He wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of answering, but she seemed to pick up on his silence as a weakness and smirked, prodding further. "At least she's dead so she doesn't have to put up with you," Katherine uncurled her legs, stretching them across the sofa, still wearing that irritating smirk. Silas gritted his teeth, flicking through the channels, trying in vain to block her out. But she kept going.

"I mean, Qetsiyah really must be crazy, if she intends to spend eternal death with you. Your doppelgänger's much nicer." She sneered.

That did it.

"God, do you _ever_ shut up, or is this just your constant cry for attention?" He snapped, spinning round to face her. "If this is what you do to everyone, it's no wonder Damon wanted you dead. You're just _horrible_, and that's even coming from me."

She blinked several times, before scowling and curling up again. Clearly no-one had ever said that to her before with a real kick. Her eyes started filling up and she looked away, wiping furiously at them, and looking at the droplets on her hands, as though she couldn't believe they were really there.

Oh great, she was crying.

"Oh, don't cry, people have said worse to you." He tried to focus on the TV, but her faint sniffles were making him feel guilty. Finally, he sighed, and looked at her again, her hunched over form, ever so fragile and red-rimmed eyes, tugging at his gut. So annoyingly beautiful. This could have really worked out in his favour if she hadn't looked like his girlfriend.

"Are you hungry?" He said, leaning back. She nodded, staring at him.

"Okay, then, just..." He gestured at the cupboards. "Help yourself."

She at first refused to move, sitting in still silence for about ten minutes, before slowly inching her way out of her seat, then hopping over to the cupboards, opening them and tossing things out. A loud rustling caught his attention; she was grabbing about ten bags of crisps and a bag of sweet popcorn and hefting them over to the couch. That was his entire supply gone-she must have been starving from the way she was now gobbling them down, ravenous and crazy-lady-like.

"Slow down, you'll get sick." He laughed. She frowned at him, then said something unintelligible through the food stuffed in her mouth. It sounded rude.

After that, she raided his DVD selection, however small, stuck _Friends _in the DVD player, and settled back onto her sofa.

He gave her an odd look. "What are you doing?"

She shrugged, munching on a chocolate bar. "I'm living a normal life, what else?"

He smiled at her. There was something about her...

"You can't have a normal life around me. And you won't have time to."

She glared at him, but he just found it amusing. Amara used to glare at him like that. Look where it got her with him.

"No, but I can try."

**~X~**

Sometimes, Silas would catch her staring into space. She dreamt of hope, she dreamt of love, she dreamt of freedom.

And he wished she wouldn't, because he still dreams of those things too. He broke free of the tomb physically, but never mentally. Some things never leave you, and in two thousand years you'd have a lot that played on your mind. Even doing nothing, frozen in stone for eternity counts as something.

It had been a week, and that seemed to slip by like water through his fingers. After wasting all that time, he was desperate to make up for what he had lost before he lost his life.

Of course, Katherine knew that, so she turned the radio up at eight every morning so loudly to annoy him, he wondered if he should just put her out of her misery right there and then. Because she was making his miserable life more miserable because she wanted to _stop _being miserable.

And now he felt sorry, he felt sick, he felt helpless.

You couldn't save everyone, but he wanted to save _her _from promised death. For no apparent reason other than that she intrigued him. And her looks.

But they were both too selfish, so she would die, and he would die with her. Only one of them would get what they wanted in death.

So he bided his time with the anchor. He bided his time in general, because they both deserved to _live._

But one day he would find it, and one day, they'd both be gone. One day, he would be with Amara, and one day, she'd be all alone.

She was scared. He could tell by the way she looked at him when he came storming out of his room to unplug the radio and stop her raiding his biscuits, but a part of her enjoyed his reactions all the same. But for some reason, if she suddenly stopped, he'd miss her. He knew it with a gut feeling as he stared at her watching the TV, popcorn missing her mouth as she tried to eat and watch at the same time.

"You know," he suddenly said, thinking aloud, as she spun round to face him, startled, too captivated in her movie. "You're not as bitchy as you're made out to be."

She relaxed, a hint of a smile edging onto her face. "And you're not as scary as _you're _made out to be."

It was just about the nicest things they'd said to each other. Probably the nicest things they would ever say again.

At least he was going down knowing he wasn't hated by everyone.

At least she was getting dragged down with him knowing he wasn't completely hateful either.

**~X~**

They founnd the anchor. They found Amara. And the relief he felt was overpowering. No-one had to die, not anymore.

The next time he saw Katherine, it was in a room with lights sparking everywhere, and Tessa performing a spell to make Bonnie the anchor. She actually full-on smiled at him. He couldn't help but grin back. Amara had given him a weird look afterwards, but at least her doppelgänger was safe. For some reason, she had become... important to him.

He approached her, and kissed her on the forehead. He could practically feel her confusion, but it just made him smile against her forehead.

"I never wanted you to die, and I'm glad you didn't. Always remember that." He murmured into her, lips still pressed to her forehead, before walking away, back towards Amara, who was staring at Katherine with the same picture of confusion she had worn, with little dashes of hatred in there as well.

He smirked, before steering her away, out the Boarding House and beyond.

In the end, he mused, he walked away with Amara, but a tiny part of his soul stayed with Katherine, despite all those wake-up calls, and the annoying food raids, how they argued.

Because, life was just funny like that.


	5. Chapter 5

**This one is about the Afterlife Katherine went to. Just something I'm experimenting with.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own tvd or its characters, they belong to Julie Plec and L.J Smith.**

Darkness.

All she could see, all she could _feel, _was darkness smothering her, pressing against her from all sides, curling wisps of it coiling into her mouth, suffocating her as it dripped sluggishly down her throat. She could even _taste _it on her tongue, bittersweet, the stuff of nightmares. She couldn't see a metre in front of her before the black caved in on her vision. Anything else she saw was grey anyway. She might as well have been blind for all the use her eyes gave her. She couldn't tell if they were open or shut, and, it kinda scared her.

But, this was her death. This was her Afterlife. This was her _Hell._

She was so _bored_, all of of the time. She couldn't do anything but listen. She had even grown accustomed to counting the strands of her hair if she could see them. She sometimes talked to herself, slowly going mad, expecting someone to answer, needing someone else there.

But the silence was deafening.

Because if there was one thing Katherine Pierce hated above all else, above Klaus, above humanity, above death itself, it was loneliness. And she was all alone.

Well, not _completely _alone, because sometimes she did hear things. Little whispers that she had to reach out and search for, listen carefully to them before they filtered away because they were better than nothing. They were better than being alone, in muffled darkness for all eternity. Harsh, jabbing words they were though, enough to make her turn away, curling up into a ball in mid-air as though she could hide, and carved carefully to skitter across her skin and slice into her like a knife, reminding her of every evil thing she'd ever done, then bring her emotions, her guilt, her grief, her sadness rushing to the surface, only to feed on it. And every time, she became less human, lost the ability to feel those things a little more each time, as the Voices ripped her ability to care apart. It worked. It always worked. She let it because it meant someone was here. It meant she had hope, despite floating through blackness, clawing and fighting against the thick tension that constricted her all around, even though there was no way out, no path, no people...

No light.

And Katherine _needed _light, she needed something to tell her how long she'd been here, and how long she would be here, even though she knew the answer to the last one. She groped for something, anything, a sliver of a chance so she could hang on to the thought of life before the emotions that made her her were gone forever.

But it didn't look like that was going to be happening anytime soon.

**~X~**

The Voices were back in full-force. It was a pity. Katherine had almost dozed off, what with nothing else to do. She lay there, floating on ink for a moment, before struggling upright, kicking towards the ground, until she felt something solid underneath her feet. It was a constant battle-to remain on her feet. It was so easy to be swept back off them again in this world. It was like floating on a cloud, but the cloud had a dark, evil substance to it, churning and thick. Tendrils of fog-like stuff waved and curled about her body as she moved, frantically trying to escape the Voices. It never worked, of course it didn't, but it took her a moment to realise that the Voices weren't speaking. She had adjusted to time without another living soul, so it took her some time to realise the sounds were of scrabbling. A scratching sound along the texture of the floor that sent chills running down her spine. Something was there. Something was coming for her. Or maybe someone.

Of course, it could be her imagination, sanity wasn't exactly her strong point nowadays. But, only one way to find out.

"Hello?" Katherine muttered, hope soaring in her chest. The one emotion she could find that she had left. Her fear had been stolen, she was dead already, why still be scared? Only silence rebounded back at her though, mocking and cold. So she screamed it this time, needing some sort of sound. "HELLO?!"

Her voice echoed out, ringing in the darkness, guttural, and slightly pleading, to the Voices that stole her pity. Nothing more. There was nobody there. And there never would be. Never had there been a more horrible person than her who had died, never who would end up here. The hope deflated in her chest as she let the fog sweep her back off her feet, dangling a few inches in the air. She was lost. She was lost without hope.

She wouldn't have been surprised if there _was _anyone there, and she just sounded too mournful to go near.

But then she ended up in for the surprise of her life-or, rather, death-because someone answered back.

"Who's there?" A soft whisper, tinged with hope, stirring memories she couldn't quite reach in the corner of her mind. She knew who that was, she'd heard that voice before. But she couldn't put her finger on it.

But if it was, even if by instinct, that she felt she knew this person, then maybe she would be okay after all, now she had eternal death with someone by her side. She took a deep, unneeded breath, and said, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

She wasn't taking any chances.

There was an echoey stamp a few feet away from her, as though someone had taken a step forward.

"Doppelgänger?" The voice asked wryly, and this time it was louder so she could tell it was a man. Someone she recognised, someone who knew she was a doppelgänger, but didn't know which one she was...

That could only mean a select few people could possibly be here right now.

Only two were men.

Only one had that particular voice, chilling, and yet comforting at the same time. Belonging to two different people, both of whom she felt completely different about.

Oh, no.

Of all the supernatural beings who had died and been dragged into hell, did it really have to be...

"Silas." Katherine stated, slamming her feet into the ground and taking a wary step back further into inky darkness.

"And, judging by your tone of disgust and fear, Katherine." Came his sour reply.

"Funny." She sneered, blindly searching for an escape route, even though she knew there wasn't one.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, still searching, panic overriding instinct and common sense. "Didn't you find peace with Amara?"

"Nope, apparently not, and, it should be pretty obvious why I'm here." Silas said, begrudged.

There was a tight pause, as Katherine slowly backed away, inch by inch. She didn't need to reply to that, they both knew the answer. She just needed to get out of here. Because even in death, he still scared her.

"You still there?" He asked, shuffling forward. He sounded... Scared. Desperate. Alone.

She sighed loudly. "Yeah, I'm still here."

"Good," Another pause. "I'm glad. I was alone for a long time. I've always been alone."

"I know the feeling." She muttered, reluctantly stopping in her tracks. Now she was feeling sorry for him. Great.

"Do the Voices get to you too? Make you... lose sense of who you are?" Silas suddenly asked. He sounded a lot closer now. A _lot. _She could very faintly feel his breath on her face.

She swallowed, trying to bury the memory. "Yeah. It's _awful, _a perfect hell. Something... something I'd rather forget... but I-"

"But you can't." He interrupted softly, as though he could still read her mind. She could see the faint outline of his figure, but it was barely anything, and it all blurred together in her confusion and lack of sight.

"I've tried." She muttered. "I've really tried, but they steal my humanity away and I hate it, because I'm powerless. The one thing you can't use as a weapon is your emotions."

"No," he mused, still unmoving. "But emotions can invoke wars. Maybe these... things wanted us here for a reason. Maybe there's something about us that's important to them."

"Where do you wanna start on the list of things valuable about us?" She laughed dryly. He momentarily joined in, and for a moment, she felt the suction-like feeling in her stomach stop in the lighthearted moment.

It didn't last long.

Now the Voices really _were _back, piercingly loud, shrieking at them, as though they couldn't stand a second of happiness in their hell-hole.

_"Ssstupid, ssstupid little girl, little Katerina, little girl who loved too blindly." _They hissed as one, all in unison. They all spoke in high-pitched whispers, glee and menace in their tone as they yanked the hope right out of her. Katherine felt vacant, empty, as she fell to her knees, pressing her hands to her ears as she screamed in pure rage at them, before that was stolen too, sucked out of her as though she had been punched and lost her breath.

_"No-one caressss, they're glad you're gone, everyone hates, hatesss, HATESSS! HATES you." _They all crooned in a sing-along voice. She curled up, suddenly aware that Silas was crouching down in front of her as she silently cried, hugging her tightly, his hands cradling her head as the Voices crushed him too. She desperately reached out, fumbling around for him until she landed on something solid, and clung on with clenched fingers, rocking into his chest.

_"You didn't desssserve that child, child, child, her death is your fault, your FAULT! She died when she met you, everyone diesssss when they meeeet you, it's your curssse, your curssse, you inflict on othersss, you don't dessserve happinessss! Your lucky ssshot at human lifffe wasn't enough for you." _They screeched, and screeched and wouldn't stop, her emotions were choking her, she scrabbled in a panic, her nails digging into Silas' shoulders in what surely must have been painful half-moon grooves, but his face somehow had become buried in her hair as he rubbed soft circles on her back soothingly as she whimpered.

_NottruenottrueNadiaNadiaNadia..._

But even as they dug deep into her soul, they clawed their way into Silas too.

_"Cheater, cheater, cheater, two thousand yearsss of a life you ssshould ssstill be in, coward, COWARD! You aren't fit to walk the Earth, ssshould have remained trapped in your tomb, rotting, ssstarving, ssstarving..."_

His hand pulled on her hair tighter, but she welcomed the pain. It blocked out the claws tearing at what was left of her soul, she could finally _concentrate _on something other than them. She wanted his inflictions. She _needed _the pain to survive.

She didn't know how long they were locked together like that, but for some reason she wouldn't have it any other way. The Voices retracted, slid away, and she felt her soul unwind from the choking grip it was in. Once they were miserable and scared enough, it seemed the Voices left them alone.

A little less human than before. And what scared Katherine the most was that she didn't know how much human was left in her.

She shivered at the thought, and unfurled away from Silas as he slid emptily back away from her. It seemed both of them would rather forget that happened.

She was shaking violently as she stood up, the laws of this world keeping her adrift from the floor, trying to expel the thoughts that the Voices had so cleverly woven into her mind. There was silence once more, and for a second she actually _dreaded _that Silas wasn't there anymore, but the thick, black fog was coiling around him, she caught snatches of his face, before he was swallowed by darkness again. It must have been the dark leather jacket he was wearing that made him hard to see.

"Are you okay?" He finally asked. She cringed; he sounded so faraway and so close at the same time. It was disorientating.

"No."

"Neither am I." He muttered. She subconsciously fumbled for him, desperate for the contact of another human being, and caught the sleek material of his jacket, gripping it tightly. She needed to be okay again. And she couldn't be if she was alone. His arms reluctantly came up, and she could feel them hovering around her shoulders, before he gingerly wrapped her in an awkward hug as though he had never done it before. It was a mutual thing, she knew, so they wouldn't feel so afraid anymore.

Such a difference from all those months ago.

It was an improvement for the better. One less person to hate, to be hated by, there were so many that there was no longer a distinguishable difference.

But her loneliness wasn't reflected back at her in a thick, suffocating death fog anymore.

Maybe it was for the better, even if she was stuck with him for all eternity.

**~X~**

She was with him for one hundred and thirty seven hours of compainable silence before he came up with a plan.

"What if, we bring them back, then instead of reacting like we normally do, ignore them and think happy thoughts?"

She squinted at him, or what of him he could see. "Well, it's impossible. Duh!"

She was almost sure she saw him laugh. "No it's not, they just let us think it is."

"Right." She scoffed, turning away. She didn't want to believe it, that it seemed that easy.

"Fine. I'm going to try it. With or without you." He huffed, standing up, and marching away.

It took her about a second to give in.

"Okay, wait for me!" She wasn't one to give up _that _easily after all.

**~X~**

It was almost a laugh. They were already there, like they knew what they were doing and were trying to stop it. The Voices attacked her first. Flew right at her, no longer emotionally, but _physically _as well, clawing and shrieking, distracting her with all their might. She fought it, hard. Shoving, snarling, but they were persistent, and so she had to be too.

"Get away, get out of my head!" She shrieked, batting at them, as they darted around her head, merely laughing wickedly. She caught little snatches of them that were almost too horrifying for the brain to comply; jagged, yellow slits for eyes, a twisted grimace that revealed unevenly pointed teeth, and their bodies-if you could even call them that, were all melted, and mushed together, like melted marshmallow. You couldn't tell where one grotesque limb began, and where another ended. The bodies all seemed to constantly _move _too, wobbling like the consistency of jelly.

It made her feel sick just thinking about them.

So instead, she thought about Nadia. Her last moments with her that had been so sad and yet happy at the same time. She had seen her daughter into the world, so it seemed fitting she would see her out of it. A pressure in her head suddenly dimmed, one she hadn't even realised was there, and she had never felt so _light._ She fought harder, as the creepy creatures crawled away, as though she were no longer appetising. It was working! The suction-like feeling was leaving her body, and she focused, got a grip. She was dead, but right now she'd never felt more alive, triumphant at surviving yet again.

"Katherine!" Silas grabbed her hand, and she breathed out her relief, deliberately relaxing. "Come on, it's now or never, those things are gonna realise at some point!"

She squeezed his hand back, before they started running. Running away from the shrieks and howls of the demented souls within, running from Hell.

Running from death.

The pounding patter of their shoes slapping against the icy, echoey floor as they ran rebounded in her thoughts, knocking around her skull. But she could see her way out, like the light at the end of a tunnel. She focused on her hope, her love, the good parts of her life, being a vampire, meeting Stefan, Nadia, she felt the strain in her body from the exertion of channelling her thoughts into pure power. It hurt, like an ache, but it was worth running through the pain. She didn't care where she ended up now, anywhere but here. Anyplace happy, any peace, even a little, she deserved it in her long, exhausting struggle to stay alive.

The light grew larger and larger, until it filled her vision completely, the brightness searing her eyes as she forced herself to keep looking at that light.

And that was the last thing she saw, for now.

**~X~**

Katherine felt... blank. Peaceful. Free.

And that was until she realised the sun was warming her face and the grass was pressed against her back.

She jerked upright, gasping in a breath of cool fresh air, that felt completely wonderful compared to the choking fingers of dark evil. Looking up, she saw a bright blue sky, and not a cloud in sight. It seemed like Heaven, but she knew nothing perfect on the top would ever stay perfect for long. A groan sounded next to her, and she whipped her head to the side next to her in alarm, relaxing only when she saw Silas sitting up next to her, eyes wide in surprise.

"Of all the places I expected to be, I did not expect this. We must be here for a reason." He said, standing up, and offering her a hand, which she accepted. She looked at him in wonder; she hadn't seen that face in a long time and she had missed it. From the hungry look he was giving her, he felt the same. About Amara. Yep. A pang of hurt sliced through her chest and she looked away in surprise. Why did she feel that way? Burying it, she marched down the front lawn of the large house behind them that looked strangely like Elena's house.

_Wait, _she stopped and turned. That _was _Elena's house. Impossible. She gaped at it, jaw dropping in shock, her insides freezing.

"What?" Silas demanded, seeing her freeze, and walked back up to her.

"That's Elena's house." She stated in shock.

"So?" Silas rolled his eyes. "That's a good thing! We're back in Mystic Falls."

"No, bad." She shook her head. "Because Elena burned down her house a year ago." She raked the house, searching for anything to prove her wrong, but only a newspaper was on the doorstep. She ran over to it, eagerly scanning it for any evidence of their whereabouts. The date flashed out at her in small, black ink, chilling her bones to the core. They were very far from home. Further than they thought.

"Then, where are we?" Silas pondered aloud, looking up at the clear, blue sky.

She looked down at the newspaper, brow furrowing in confusion. The impossible was now possible. Maybe this was their ticket home.

"Mystic Falls, 1994."

**To be continued...**

**Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Kind of chapter 3 part two thing going on here, I had a comment on a threesome and it gave me a great idea, so many thanks to Katherine Salvatore15 for this chapter! ;-)**

**Disclaimer: Julie Plec and L.J Smith own the vampire diaries characters, not me.**

He had not seen it coming.

The collection of unfortunate events that mashed together to make his life, the negativity, the guilt, the pain, again and again. One big cycle.

He hadn't seen Katherine Pierce coming back into his life with a positive glow, making his life that tiny bit better. The difference between the straw on the camal's back. He couldn't have seen it coming, not by a long shot.

Yet, there she was, Sunday afternoon, toe-nail painting on his lap. Not of any relevance to him, but again, she had spent her life betraying her loved ones until she met him.  
>"Why are you here?" he asks her. It was something that had been bugging him for the past month, but he never got round to asking it.<p>

She smiles, and it is a very pleased smile, as though she had been waiting for him to ask her.  
>"For you."<p>

Of course that was the reason. He should have known, it always was.

The question was, was if she meant it.

"For protection, you mean." He shoots back angrily. Maybe he was getting his hopes up for nothing. She needed a safe haven, and he hadn't changed enough to stop her. She was a permanent part of his life, whether he liked it or not.

"I wanted you, regardless if I was a vampire or a human. The protection is an added bonus." Katherine snaps, painting her left foot's big toe. The colour is hot pink. Not that he noticed.

He grabs her ankles, and she freezes, fear dancing in her eyes. She doesn't know how far he could go. She's scared.

For some reason, that is terrifying.

He starts running his thumbs over her feet in slow, smooth motions. She slowly relaxes, settling back into the couch, twisting the top to her nail varnish back on.

"What happened to Elijah?" He smirks as her feet tense again, this time in shock. "Don't know, don't care." She huffs. That was a sore question.

"Well, he's an idiot. He liked the human you."

"You liked the human Elena." Katherine teases, leaning forward.

"Human Elena was someone who was never mine. " he replies stiffly.

Katherine shakes her head. "Then why waste all that time if you knew you had already lost?" She's very pleased, he's stepping closer into her crimson embrace.

"I liked to think I hadn't lost her to my brother, like I lost you." He says bitingly.

She sighs. "You never lost me. Damon did." She tosses the nail varnish onto the coffee table and gets onto her knees, leaning into him until she is mere inches away from his face. Kissable distance, if he wanted. It would be easy, she was only human.

"You got me all too easily. Damon yearned for a part of me that would love him back, but I couldn't. I could only love you. And you can only love me." She smirks, biting his lower lip slowly. He strokes her hair back slowly, leaning closer, closer, closer. One month. One month was all it took to succumb to her. It was too easy. His heart thrums anxiously in anticipation and he finally decides to stop it from waiting.

He kisses her, hard and deep, all consuming darkness and passion knocking into him. Her hands tangle in his hair, and he keeps falling, falling, falling.

Into her crimson embrace.

And he loves every moment of it.

He lifts her top off, making her blink in surprise, before she completely ruins his shirt by ripping it down the front, trailing burning kisses down his chest as his shoes are kicked off somewhere on the other side of the room.

After that, he really doesn't remember much else other than her.

**~X~**

Silas comes back. And, from the look on his face when he enters the room to find Katherine and him in nothing but the couch blanket, it was probably not what he had been expecting.

"So, um... when'd this happen?" He makes a circling motion with his finger at him, still shocked. There was something else there too, something flickering in his eyes that Stefan could barely make out. It looked like pain.

Stefan smirks up at him. "Not too long ago."  
>Next to him, Katherine giggles and snuggles closer to him.<p>

Silas nods, wide-eyed, then just steps over them awkwardly to get into the kitchen. "That's disgusting." He informs them as he raids the cupboards. "How am I ever supposed to sit on that sofa again?"

"We now deem this our sofa. Go buy a new one." Katherine grins lightheartedly. Silas smiles at her as he pulls out a bottle of wine.  
>"I think I'm gonna need this."<p>

"So am I. I'm tired." Katherine says, stretching. She stands up suddenly, and Silas and Stefan freeze, staring at her as she hunts for her clothes.  
>She catches them looking and smiles. "Perverts. It's nothing you both haven't seen before."<p>

Silas blinks several times in surprise, before his face smooths out, but not before Stefan sees it. Katherine knows a lot more about Silas than she's letting on, and it's a lot more than he wants her to know.

"By the way, your ex is a right bitch." She adds, pulling on her shirt. Stefan is confused. Why tell them now, after all these weeks?

"Qetsiyah's back." Silas doesn't seem surprised. Maybe she can't take a hint. "Why didn't you tell us?"

She shrugs. "I didn't want you two rushing off to your deaths. I like living with you guys, without Elena hanging around."

"Thanks, I think." Stefan mutters, pulling on his clothes, a rather awkward job from his position on the sofa, so he rolls onto the floor.

"Damon misses you," Katherine smirks at him. That was out of the blue. "He didn't ever say, but I could tell." She's clearly waiting for his reaction.

"Huh, well that's strange, 'cause I don't miss him." Stefan replies, standing up to glare at her. He hasn't thought about Damon in months; he doesn't need all the bad memories to come rushing back.

"Good. That's what I was hoping for. Unlike Damon, you don't turn back. It's what I like about you." Katherine says. She's obviously very pleased about this afternoon's turn of events. Silas stares at them, clearly missing out on whatever's happening. He's mainly looking at Katherine, in what Stefan recognises above all else. It's what he had had for weeks after Elena got together with Damon, whilst the sire bond was still intact, and it was one of the worst feelings in the world.

Longing.

He just feels guilty, guilty as hell. Because he hadn't known, that Silas liked Katherine, or he wouldn't have kissed her in the first place. He should have known, he should have known. History is going to repeat itself.

She has no clue. Otherwise she would have played this to her advantage. Played them both against each other, accidental or not, and he would have had to leave. Start over, all over again. He looks at Silas, who has somewhat managed to suppress his feelings until now. He holds up the bottle and says, "Gotta go. You young 'un's have fun." He jokes, trying to conceal his pain, then sprints up the stairs as though he's running from something.

Maybe he's running from them.

**~X~**

They follow him. Stefan gives him another vodka bottle, and sits down next to him with an apologetic look. They end up watching animated movies and throwing back alcohol until they are so drunk they can barely walk. Katherine giggles hysterically, her head resting on Silas' shoulder as they watch Despicable Me, a favourite Stefan knows Silas doesn't like to admit to. But his interest isn't really on the minions right now so much as on the girl practically sitting on him. Yawning and hugging his shoulder tightly, burrowing into his shirt. He smiles softly at her, and Stefan can tell that he's in deep. Just like him. Just like every other guy. He can kinda see what Silas was missing out on earlier. It was something there, something important. By the time they are halfway through the movie, Silas is captivated by Katherine's captivation of the movie, and Stefan is too busy watching them with something close to jealousy to be interested in the movie anymore. Even drunk, his emotions betray him. They're stuck in that little chain for so long that he starts getting used to it by the time they get to Despicable Me 2.

So in the end, it isn't a surprise when Silas kisses Katherine.

And it isn't really a surprise when she kisses him back, more of a painful twinge tightening in his stomach.

But what is most surprising, is when she reaches for him. He kisses her deeply, the alcohol deluding his senses, as his shirt comes off again for the second time that day. Silas' follows and he starts kissing Katherine's neck, before she somehow wriggles out of her bra without breaking away. Her top is ripped off next, by him or Silas, he can't really remember.

But what he does remember, is a hot, sweaty tangle of bodies that is the most fun he's gotten out of being drunk in a long time.

**~X~**

"That was fun." Katherine smirks once she catches her breath.

"Huh, you're not bad, Pierce." Silas smirks back as she drunkenly pats his chest in acknowledgement. Oh, he definetly looks what Stefan feels. Content.

"Both of you, stop looking so smug, I'm tired!" She giggles and buries her face in the pillows.

"What? Like this?" Stefan smiles, and leers at her, as she shrieks and pulls the covers further over her. He can't help but laugh and he knows Silas can't either as he plays with her hair, and toys with the strands.

"Yes!" Comes her muffled reply, and Stefan laughs again as he flops back onto the bed next to her, drunk.

Delirious.

Happy.

Although he can't help but wonder how long it will take down the road until it circles back to 1864, all over again.

**~X~**

He supposes it is a kind of happy ending, because Katherine seems to have learnt from the last time things went wrong, but maybe it's because she's now human, and well, maybe because she's sleeping with the most powerful creature alive and it's not wise to get on his bad side.

She treats them both equally. Kisses them both, and spends time with one whilst the other's away, and maybe the reason Stefan trusts her not to fall in too deep like before is because she can always tell the difference between the two of them.

Or maybe it's that he and Silas know not to compete because it's never ended well before for them in the past.

~X~

"Do you love us both?" He asks her one day, when Silas is out, shopping, which for some reason makes him laugh. He never was really a major shopping type, so picturing himself doing it is somewhat hilarious.

She knows they both love her. She must do by now.

She clucks her tongue. "I don't know."

**~X~**

She helps them both with their respective traumas. Soothes them every drunk time they all fall into bed which is far too many times longer count.

His nightmares are over, but somehow he feels as though he wishes they would stay because he's afraid that without them he will fall apart and fall back into his old ways.

And with his old ways, he loses everything.

And the trouble with becoming the person he was is that he would lose control.

If he stayed like this, he had nothing to lose. Katherine loved both of them and she wasn't going anywhere, and if she was, Silas would know anyway.

Sometimes, like right now, he'll sit on the bench on the back porch, and swing his legs ever so childishly, and think about these things.

Like right now, Silas comes and sits next to him. He never normally does it, and he never normally says anything, just stares up at the night sky. Stefan thinks he still thinks of freedom. He thinks he's sometimes still afraid.

"You're worried. About Katherine." He states., right out of the blue. Stefan smiles. "When am I not?"

"You're supposed to worry, Stefan. That is what love is." Silas replies, looking at him with serious green eyes that reflect back Stefan's own identical pair.

"That's not what I'm worried about. I'm worried about what love is to her." Stefan mutters sadly. He wishes that wasn't the truth, but a tiny part of him can't always help but distrust her.

"It means getting what she wants. It means winning." Stefan calls up those words from so long ago, from a time trapped in a tomb when he had Elena, and he was still fighting a battle he hadn't realised he had already lost.

Silas' brow furrows in concern, and maybe even a little fear. "Did she tell you that?"

Stefan laughs. It sounds mad to his ears. "She told me that a very long time ago."

There's a long silence, then Silas speaks again. "That has many different meanings, all the positive ones I hope are directed at us."

Stefan huffs. "Me too, but I'm scared she means it the way she did one hundred and forty seven years ago with me and my brother." He reluctantly admits.

"She doesn't, I would know. There are a million different things running through her head as she dreams, and the most she worries about is us leaving her because she loves us, and, I think she struggles with it." Silas assures him.

"So don't worry, shadow self, if she does leave, it won't be because she doesn't love me, or you, enough. It'll be because she loves us too much."

**~X~**

"What on Earth took you two so long?" Katherine asks impatiently as they come back in. The TV's blaring, and she's painting her toe nails again; this time a crisp white.

"Doppelgänger bonding." Silas smiles sweetly. She sighs and shakes her head as they sit down either side of her and she puts her head in Stefan's lap and her drying feet in Silas'. She's never done it before, and Stefan shares a bemused glance with Silas as she settles down on them. For some reason she's feeling sentimental, and at the peaceful look on her face, Stefan wishes at that moment, more than anything, he could dive into her mind like Silas, just to see what she's thinking.

He hopes she's thinking all about him.

**~X~**

They've just left to pick up a Christmas tree. They left Katherine sleeping in the house, to keep it a surprise. Sounds so ordinary. Their first Christmas together.

The first Christmas he's had in a long time.

"Thank you." Stefan says into the silence.

Silas looks over him, frowning. "What for?"

"I think I would have gone mad if you hadn't talked to me about Katherine."

Silas chuckles. He looks pleased. "Well, she's worth it."

Stefan agrees instantly.

"Yes she is."

**Thanks for reading! Please give me suggestions, I'm running out of ideas!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Part two of chapter 5; please let me know if you liked it.**

**Disclaimer: Julie Plec and L.J Smith own the vampire diaries characters, not me.**

They were in...well, Katherine didn't know where exactly. 1994, May 10th. They'd gone back in _time. _That couldn't be possible. No way. But the newspaper flashing the date in front of them couldn't be lying. It was a specific date, and probably one of the worst possible ones. They'd stepped out of one Hell, and into another. It didn't seem fair, it _wasn't._

And while she was absorbing this dilemma, Silas was making pancakes. _Pancakes_. She'd laugh at the sight, but it didn't seem funny right now, in this place.

They'd been here two days, and there was no-one else here, and they were stuck on repeat in the same day, all over again.

Worst of all, they were stuck in Elena's _house. _She'd suggested the Boarding House, but _no_, Silas wanted to stay here where all the pancake batter mix was, with the bright, happy wallpaper, and the neat and orderly furniture. Boring! She'd leave, but she'd be alone again, and who knew what was creeping about here, however unlikely.

Besides, for some reason she felt much safer with him.

"Do you want whipped cream?" Silas asked cheerily, painting a huge smile onto his face when she glared at him. He was enjoying her discomfort _way _too much.

"You're being ridiculous. And annoying." Katherine said, as he placed the plate in front of her. The pancake had a really creepy smiley face on it with chocolate sauce, and it looked like it was watching her. She jabbed at it viciously, taking out her frustration on it.

"Leave the pancake alone!" Silas said, leaning into her hair and smirking.

"You're lucky _you're _not the pancake!" Katherine smiled, gripping her fork sinisterly.

"Ooh, I've been warned, scary!" Silas sat down opposite her. He was so _irritating. _Uurggh, and...sexy, she had to admit that.

"Mmmm, anyway, since we're stuck in the worst possible year, you have any quick-smart ways of getting out?" She asked, chewing her pancake. It was surprisingly good, a light and fluffy texture.

"Yes, but without an ascendant, we aren't getting anywhere." Silas said, disappointment in his eyes that she knew was a reflection of her own emotions. She didn't want to be stuck here, but it was better than before. At least they had a nice view and a constant supply of food.

"Damn." Katherine muttered. "Then we might as well go shopping!" Her spirits lifted as she said it. Maybe shopping would help her feel better about being dead.

"We have to eat something other than pancakes!" She added reasonably. Silas gritted his teeth. "Yeah, why not?"

Katherine clapped her hands excitedly. "Great! Let's go!" She jumped up and hurried out the front door, vaguely irritated by Silas laughing at her. She pursed her lips, and wandered off down the road, towards the mall. She didn't have a car, but she was determined to have fun in this one-horse town.

She'd been kicked out of Hell, so she could do anything.

**~X~**

They'd been here two weeks. Two weeks, and they still hadn't found a way out. She was starting to think they never would.

Right up until she saw the car parked in the shopping mall parking lot that definitely hadn't been there yesterday.

"You've got to be kidding me." She muttered to herself. Oh, this was getting worse by the second.

"There's someone here?" Silas asked, eyes widening in delight.

"Not just anyone. That's Damon's car!" Katherine whispered, hopping over it. There was glee in her horror as well; maybe she could trash it.

"Damon's here?" Silas sounded dubious.

"Huh," she stopped in her tracks. That _did _sound unlikely. "Maybe not, that guy's practically unkillable purely because of his ironic sense of humour. He must have left it here in 1994."

"Hopefully." Silas muttered, walking into the food shop. Katherine smirked, and followed him in as he grabbed a shopping trolley and pushed it down the aisle.

"Well, would you rather Tessa was here?" She remarked snidely as she opened a freezer door and took out some lollies. She'd missed them.

"No, but," he pulled a pair of sunglasses from the rack next to him and put them on, leaning on the trolley. "Damon's not much better, and he's not much use."

"I suppose." She sighed as she grabbed a bag of apples and tossed them in. "Anyway, what's next on the list?"

"Um," Silas looked down at the notepaper he'd scrawled on. "Ice cream."

Katherine dumped in a tub of ice cream, frowning at how unhealthy they were.

"But-" she started to argue, but the the sound of someone shoving open the door caused them both to freeze in their tracks. As though simultaneously, they ducked into the next aisle, Silas going round and shoving the trolley right out the back door.

"What? Why are we running?" Katherine demanded as Silas sped round the corner.

"What if they're dangerous to us? I mean, we're not very well liked, you should hear what people say about you." He hissed back at her.

"Well, excuse me for being sociable. It's not like I want to be stuck here with you!" She snapped back hotly, marching off as fast as she could in her heels. She was so _angry, _she didn't want to be here anymore, she wanted to be _alive._

And since she couldn't have her daughter, she would have to settle for that.

"Uurggh, Katherine, wait, I'm sorry!" She heard Silas grumble. He spun the trolley around and sped after her.

"Yeah, you should be." She shot back moodily, but she stopped anyway. She wanted to hear what he had to say.

"Yeah, so just...sorry." He said softly as he came up behind her.

She shrugged. "Okay." Their relationship really wasn't that mutual, they just clashed on a regular basis.

"We'll go back, see if they can help, come on." He slowly pushed the trolley until they were back at the corner, where he stopped and peeked around. Katherine hovered behind him, waiting for him to tell her something. But he didn't. Instead, his entire body had stiffened, and he sucked in a breath in shock.

"What? What do you see?" Katherine tried to edge impatiently around him, but he wouldn't move. Eventually she gave up, tugging hard on his arm until he turned back around. He looked angry, a storm in his eyes. She couldn't imagine anyone apart from Tessa that would cause that reaction.

But what he said next changed everything.

"Bonnie." He said tersely. His body was still wired and tense. "Bonnie Bennett. And, Damon, but that's no longer important."

She couldn't believe what she had heard. The anger that fueled her at that moment was unbelievable. The Bennett witch, who had stood there and watched as she was sucked away into oblivion, and hadn't lifted a finger. This must have been the luckiest coincidence she'd ever come across.

"She's dead."

"Oh, that she is." Silas smirked, releasing the forgotten trolley, letting it bounce quietly against the building wall. Katherine made to walk out, to shred Bonnie to pieces, but Silas stopped her.

"No, no, not yet. Maybe we could...mess around with them a little. Make them suffer." A small, evil smile played around Silas' lips, and she found herself enjoying it. Enjoying his dark, little theme. It was kind of cute.

"Where do I sign up?"

**~X~**

Yellow Ledbetter. Just two words. So simple, so easy, yet could be twisted in a different meaning altogether. One of danger.

She was surprised Bonnie hadn't found it sooner in that newspaper of hers, so she found it for her.

The look on Damon's face was priceless.

"I could-I could-" Silas gestured frantically, as he tried to express his delight over her _brilliant_ idea. She thought he would hug her, or at least stop making the pancakes every morning, but instead he kissed her.

Deeply.

With tongue.

She shouldn't have enjoyed it, but she just couldn't resist. So she closed her eyes, and just flowed into it, gripping the hand in her hair. She hadn't been kissed like _that, _in so long, and it felt good knowing it came from him.

It ended too soon, with a passion that swept through her, and left her terrified, yet wanting more.

He pulled away, still leaning in so close that she could kiss him again, his forehead pressed to hers.

"I had to do that at least once." He whispered, and then he turned around and walked away up the stairs, leaving her in a state of confusion and...emotion. An emotion she couldn't quite place.

And, just like that, it was over.

For now.

**~X~**

There were days, the same old days, where Katherine just didn't know what to do about it. About him.

It had been a week, since the...incident, but whenever she thought about it, she needed a drink.

So, often on days like these, she would raid the Gilbert's wine cellar, and then the neighbours, when they run out, and she would turn the stereo up loud, pour out an elegant glass of wine for herself, and think about him, as she swayed and danced to the music. A lot.

His kiss...she found herself wanting more of it than she should, and he'd left behind feelings in her that couldn't be erased. And it wasn't fair.

Death really sucked.

Because she _knew, _that Silas was substituting her for Amara, it wasn't hard to figure out, but she didn't care anyway. And that was what would destroy her the most.

So she let wine burn, as it slid down her throat in a blissful haze as his eyes sizzled holes in the back of her head, watching her, constantly.

His beautiful, beautiful, leaf-green eyes...

Katherine snapped out of it, all of a sudden aware that she had been staring at him, leaning forward, trying to see his face and his sparkly, smouldery eyes. And she did, as he looked up and saw her precarious position in mild shock, and the tiny sober part of her brain remembered to be embarassed and show her mortification in her hot, red cheeks. She was not a subtle drunk. Sadly.

"What?" He smirked, looking up from his map reading, and gulping down his glass of bourbon. He'd been trying to find a way into the tunnels where the ascendent thingy would align with the eclipse.

She smiled drowsily at him, his own smile chasing her embarrassment away. His face was _amazingly_ hot. How had she not seen how good-looking he was before? How could someone _be _that handsome, and she hadn't fully realised it yet? Even with Stefan, she hadn't quite comprehended it, though with her love for him she definitely should have. He should grow out a _moustache_. A moustache, on Silas. Wasn't that an evil guy sign? The mere image of moustache Silas made her giggle hysterically before she could control herself, and Silas looked at her sharply.

"How much did you drink?" He asked. He was almost smiling, nearly there.

She beamed back so widely her cheeks started hurting. "You're really pretty." She blurted out before she could stop herself. Alarm bells were ringing at the back of her head, but they were too dull for her to listen to them. Silas actually smiled this time, lips wordlessly pulling up in a beautifully sweet smile despite himself and straining at his cheek muscles as he leaned back in his chair.

"Like, proper beautiful. I swear, you're prettier than Stefan, and he's _really _pretty." Katherine rambled on, voice slurring, and she stumbled in her heels clumsily towards him. She frowned at her feet. When had she put on her heels? Everything was a blur right now. Just what she wanted it to be.

"Thank you, I think." Silas said, reaching out to grab her flailing arms as she hobbled towards him. If he hadn't, she would have fallen flat into his lap, and even drunk that would be something she could never live down.

"You should loosen up. You're being boooooring!" Katherine drew out the word as she scrabbled for a hold on his shirt, gripping his collar tightly. Something shifted in his eyes; she couldn't tell what, but she was almost sure it was something close to lust. He was just skimming his eyes over her body as she leaned on him, squirming to find a comfortable place in his lap, and he didn't seem to be listening, so she said it again. "Boooooring!" It sounded funny, and he laughed, his hands on her arms slowly sliding down to her waist, his gaze on her face, nearing, nearing, nearing, and she was suddenly all too aware of his hands, sparking electricity wherever he touched her. Oh, God. She swallowed nervously, her throat suddenly dry as her eyes flickered to his lips, mere inches away from brushing her own and igniting that deep, fiery passion inside her that she craved.

"Siiiilas." Katherine dragged his name out, testing it on her tongue, in a sharp, ragged whisper, as he slowly leaned closer, an inticing invite in his eyes, and in an instant she knew she wanted him, in that moment she wanted him more than anything she'd ever wanted in her entire life, and the intensity of it left her shaking, and caused her to shove him back and scramble out of his lap. No way was she drunk enough to be let down by disappointment. Damn it.

But eventually, he would be hers, and _damn_ that stupid doppelgänger prophecy if it separated them, because she was Katherine Pierce and she _always _got what she wanted. Even in death.

"No." She slurred, shaking her finger at him. He smirked again in amusement.

"No?"

"Yep. No." She shook her head at him vigorously. She was not going to sleep with him in Elena's house...uuurrgh, no. But someday, someday, they would go there.

_Not now, not yet, but one day, you will be mine._

**~X~**

Whatever had happened between them, he wouldn't speak of it again. And scaring the hell out of Bonnie and Damon was his primary focus, probably so he _couldn't_ talk about it.

It was frustratingly scary how much she wanted him now that she'd had him for a split second.

It was freakingly weird how much she enjoyed taking out that frustration on Damon's car with a poker, leaving it a completely smashed and battered version of what it once was.

And stealing his keys. That was fun too.

In the end, it didn't really matter. No matter what she did, she would never like the world she was stuck in for eternity.

Katherine needed to get home. She needed to see Stefan. She needed to see Nadia, although that was no longer an option.

So she would just have to make-do with what she had. An all powerful witch who she may or may not have the _tiniest _crush on, and who may or may not like her back, a vampire who couldn't drink blood here, and another witch who had recently given up all her magic, and probably no longer had it.

"I want to get home." She said aloud. Silas looked up at her from his grimoire. "Well, that's why we're trying to find the ascendant." He replied snidely. It was the first real acknowledgement he'd given her, even if it was a rude one.

"Yeah, I know, but I need someone who'll be able to work one hundred percent. Who can actually find it." She shot back snootily, turning away.

"Yeah, hello, perfect speciman of man right here." Silas waved at her, smirking. "If I can do a locators spell, then we can get it, go into a source of power i.e. underground, perform the spell in the light of the eclipse and _woala! _Done, back to life." He shrugged, as Katherine gaped at him open-mouthed. Whatever he had just said, it didn't sound easy, and to travel forward in time _and _get resurrected? It would take a hell of a lot of power.

"Can I do it? My dad was a traveler, I died as a human, I could help." Katherine suggested, despite not even beginning to grasp the basics of their path home.

"The more the merrier," Silas shrugged, and _how did he not realise her gaze on his lips?!_ "Bonnie died as the anchor to the Other Side, so I doubt she'll be much help."

She hoped he could do it, she needed to do it, more than anything else. Because, she had come to realise, that beyond whatever she was feeling, she had developed some bond of trust with him, however tenous, and she hadn't had that in a very long time.

It scared her most of all that she wasn't afraid of it, not even a little bit.

**~X~**

But they needed that ascendant. More than anything. So, begrudgingly, they would have to make themselves known to Damon and Bonnie in the hopes that they had more leads.

Though the way she marched away from him the fourth time that week didn't exactly inspire much confidence in Katherine, but she would have to try.

After the eclipse, they went into the shop, knowing full well that Damon and Bonnie wouldn't show up for another several hours. She grabbed a rolled up map from the back, whilst Silas raided the counter and came up with a handful of change. Although why he would need money if they were in a land with no other people to exchange it with, she didn't know.

She grabbed a bag of crisps, and grabbed a bottle of bourbon, then tossed a sprig of vervain in it for luck; she wouldn't put it past Damon to try and compel her away, and swigged a mouthful of it back. She may need to be slightly tipsy if having to deal with the both of _them_.

And Silas' erratic behaviour, apparently, since he had just dashed outside with the money, heading right for the merri-go-round right outside the shop. She watched, in light amusement, as he examined the instructions on the machine, then slotted the coins in one by one and kneeled down and started tapping some buttons on the battery box. How he'd figured that out, she would never know.

Hopefully, it was something good. Something to trick Bonnie and Damon, even if it _was_ a children's toy.

Silas suddenly stood up, looked over his shoulder, and hurried back into the shop over to her, looking immensely pleased with himself.

"What did you do?" Katherine asked, smiling as he grabbed another bottle of bourbon.

"Oh, that was just setting the merri-go-thing on a timer, so when Damon and Bonnie get here in," he looked at his watch, which couldn't possibly be correct in a place that constantly relived itself, but apparently was, "Forty minutes! Give or take," He took another sip of bourbon. "They'll be super freaked out and probably get into an argument about it, then Bonnie will storm off for the fourteenth time, and Damon will come here to drink it off, but his drinks will be filled with vervain."

Katherine frowned at him, a little weirded out by how much he knew about their behaviour patterns. He saw it, and he clucked his tongue, realisation dawning on him. "I really shouldn't know that."

"You really shouldn't." She agreed, walking into the back, and opening her crisps. She handed Silas a wooden chair, smirking as he rolled his eyes and stamped hard on one of the legs, splintering it and breaking it off. He picked it up and tossed the chair behind her, eyes gleaming predatorily at the sharp points at the end of the wooden leg, forming a home-made stake. Just for Damon, who she was almost sure she could see outside, arguing _again _with Bonnie.

"So, you know what to do?" He asked impatiently.

"Seriously? You're asking _me _what to do? The girl who always stays ten steps ahead?" Katherine asked him dubiously, hand on her hip.

"Yep, 'cause-" Silas was cut off by the door opening and the familiar stomp of Damon's boots scuffling towards the wine aisle. They both froze for a moment, then Silas dived for the gap between the two shelves of wine and beer, merging with the shadows, whilst Katherine made a straight beeline for the back room, deliberately throwing her bottle onto the floor. The glass smashed everywhere, creating a loud shattering noise that could _not _be missed, especially with vampire hearing, and she hid behind a long table, that suspiciously looked as though it had been used for breaks. It didn't take long for Damon to come walking tentatively down towards their aisle, peering round the corner, and staring at the splintered shards of glass scattering the floor with those _gorgeous _bright blue eyes that she admittingly had missed just a little bit.

Katherine stuck her hand into her crisp packet, then popping a crisp in her mouth and crunching as loudly as possible. She saw Damon, through the gap in the shelf in front of her, straighten in suspicion, and inch towards her. She smirked to herself. This was gonna be fun.

And then Damon turned the corner, finally spotting her, and the look of horror on his face was something she couldn't have even _begun _to imagine.

"Hello, Damon." She smiled sweetly. His mouth gaped open in shock and _wow, _she was really enjoying this. She only wished that she had a camera.

"Katherine." Was all he managed to choke out, as he continued to stare at her in an utter mask of resentment, surprise, and anger, and she just absorbed it all, basked in every moment of it. Because this probably wouldn't be happening again anytime soon.

"Miss me?" She smirked as Silas deftly stepped out from behind the shelf, right behind Damon, broken wooden chair leg in hand.

_Aah, _she smiled again to herself. This was going to be so much. This was what she had been waiting for. Justice would be served. For her daughter, for herself.

And vengeance had never tasted more sweeter on her tongue.

**To be continued...**

**Thanks for reading! Please review, and I am open to suggestions! :-) xx**


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